wings of lead
by TheOtherExperiment
Summary: I have these wings, but I cannot fly. - Survey Corps WING AU
1. 1 tape on your wings

_I have these wings, but I cannot __**fly.**_

Every young soldier that joins the survey corps is granted a gift, for their bravery, and for giving their lives up for the sake of humanity. The gift is entirely the same, but different for everyone. A pair of wings for every soldier; mimicking those of the greatest masters of the skies – the birds. Depending on you and yourself, you may have a different pair of wings than the man standing next to you. The survey corps no longer needs 3-D Manoeuver gear, it is cumbersome in comparison. Great heroes are not defined by their feathers, but by their hearts.

But, in the end, it all boils down to whether or not you can reallyfly.

Crowds gathered for the arrival of the Survey corps. Crowds gathered to admire their feathers, and their unique pattern of flight. Nothing like the birds they saw over their heads, and nothing like a normal human moves. Everyone has an underlying jealousy of the Survey Corps, some are more violent with it, that's all. Everyone trapped behind those walls would give their souls to fly above the heads of titans and reach the earth's end.

Commander Erwin lands just inside the walls, his spread, eagle wings fluttering with the breeze. They stretch well over two metres each side, trimmed with dark brown and fixed to his back at the shoulder blades. You can see the power behind them. Two more Survey Corps drop to either side of him, tucking in their tawny wings to their bodies, and straightening up. They are carrying once-heavy sacks that once held supplies. Further along the procession lands Hanji Zoe – her wings are black, peppered with white markings. Behind her comes squad Levi, led by the infamous Captain. Levi Heichou's wings are entirely black, sharp edged and extremely well-defined. They are much smaller than the huge wings of Commander Erwin. Levi's squad each have most well-defined and sharpest wings. They are the best flier's humanity's ever seen.

The crowd cheer for the Survey Corps, but grim faces are given in return. There are too few returning. Too many are returning with lost limbs, or lost entirely.

Eren Yaeger shuffled from foot to foot. He is a soldier, getting his wings. He's asked so many elders 'What's it like?' , but he never really gets a real answer. They seem reluctant to speak of it. Eren glances around the waiting room he's in, met with the anxious faces of his squad mates. They are what is left of the 104th training division. They are getting their wings today. That means they are undeniably prepared to give up their lives for humanity, apparently. Eren hopes his Titan shifting does not affect the new appendages he will be getting.

He feels different. Lighter, stronger, faster – the air tastes fresher and the world looks sharper. He moves the wings on his shoulder blades; the feeling of having two extra limbs is strange. He can feel the tendons and muscle moving, but nothing feels heavier than before. His head is still spinning from the process of attaining his feathers. He knows his bones are lighter, his lungs are larger and his chest is stronger. This fact does not stop his head from pounding or his back from aching, or his hands from shaking. There is a mirror, so he turns around and examines himself in its surface. His wings are those of what he thinks is a Hawk. Dark brown and speckled on top, creamy coloured underneath. He is too excited to find out what it's like to really fly – not fly with 3DMG, but really carrying himself along the wind by his own means and relying on his own body, and only himself. The Titans would have no idea what was coming for them. If only his mother could see him now, he hoped that she would be proud. Maybe she was watching from above, maybe Marco was too.

After a while, the next soldier joins his in the exit room. It's ceiling is arched and tall enough to fly in. The windows are wide open, so the room is cool and airy. There are beams running from wall to wall, higher up, as perches. The soldier that joins Eren is Armin. Armin's face is pale and he does not look himself, his walk is wobbly. The wings that stretch from his bare back are snowy- white, like an owl's. Eren makes his own way to his best friend. Not soon after, more soldier's meet them in the exit room. They each are sporting wings on their backs. Mikasa's are cut-edge and Falcon. Jean's are owl-ish and a dusty brown. Reiner's are huge and a cream colour, marked with smudges of a darker shade. Bertholdt's are also so large and long, the feather's reaching so far out. They are light grey, merging at the tips to a dark grey. Like a stork.

Annie's are small and tucked tightly against her body defensively when she enters the exit room. Connie's are short, but wide, and a dark grey colour. Sasha's are splayed and arched, mimicking the wing pattern of all the birds of prey. Christa's are small and a muggy grey. Ymir's are stark black and huge.

There are too many details that the soldiers need to discover. Not anyone alive knows everything about the transformation from human to bird. Not much is known about the interior design of the bird-humans. Why and how are they so light-boned, and why they can see so sharply and in detail, from so far away?

The young soldiers have too short a time to learn to fly. For, if they do not learn to fly, how on Earth will they make sure that humanity does not fall?

~End of Chapter 1


	2. 2 obey the skies

_A/N – Please note, this story does not follow the actual storyline, and the plot is generally of my own creation. Although, I do not own any of the Shingeki no Kyojin world or its characters. _

_I have these wings, but I cannot __**fly. **_

Learning to fly is so much harder than you could think. Humans are not supposed to leave the ground; otherwise they would be born with wings. The new survey corps who gotten their wings, 'fledglings', as they were mockingly deemed, learnt this the hard way. Training was relentless and demanding. Their backs ached and their muscles screamed and their throats raw from huge amounts of air their lungs requested. Mikasa was, indifferent from her previous training success, a natural flier. She was the first to achieve sustained flight.

Captain Levi was called down to the flight area, because this group was claimed to be the hardest to teach in over a decade. They were too young, the others said, and their bodies were not ready for such harsh developments. Levi dismissed these statements, adamant that it was because the brats couldn't get past their fear of flying. Even if they denied it, Levi was sure that each and every one of the fledglings was terrified of letting go of the ground without a machine or contraption to guide them. He shouted at them and called them cowards, showing them that they should trust their own wings more than they ever trusted their 3-DM gear. Surely, their own flesh and blood was more reliable than a man-made contraption that could easily fault.

It took too long for the fledglings to achieve their first, full flights. But when they did, they realised how limitless the sky could be and how far they could fly if they wanted. They felt the wind against their faces, and the way they could turn with the slightest tilt of a couple feathers, how they could carry themselves so high that the people below were but mere ants. They tucked in their wings past the clouds and held their hearts in their throats as they plummeted to the ground, before pulling up from the dive and floated in the breeze. Once a bird knows how to fly, it knows it can go anywhere and do anything. In a few short weeks, Eren was sure that he could master this flight, and finally escape the walls. The Survey Corps could leave the walls forever, if they wanted, but humanity drew them back like a bird has its wings clipped.

After their first full day of training, the fledglings trailed their way back quietly to their barracks, the girls and boys splitting off in different directions. Their wings hung proudly, yet limply, against the jackets on their backs. The smaller fledglings found that they could barely move without pain in their backs, because their small stature was not quite so ready for the sheer amount of muscle movement in their spines. The others faced a similar issue, yet not quite so bad. Spirits could not help but be lifted, the day's events fresh and sharp in their minds, and their hearts filled with a little warm hope.

Three weeks later, and the fledglings were no longer fledglings. They were sky-high fliers, brushing against the atmosphere and watching the world from above. They could speed along at high speeds for hours and hours, squinting against the cold wind and their wings tucking and spreading in a plethora of shapes. Diving, lifting, spinning, swooping, gliding, racing, climbing, dipping, soaring, twirling, looping, darting, shooting. They could fall and kill a titan and leave again quicker than imagined. They were addicting to their own wings, too far in to ever come back out. Addiction, as they all knew, was a dangerous thing, but that would not change their minds.

The gate was yanked open, squeaking and squalling against its hinges, and the horses were spurred on through the opening. The hooved feet pounded the trampled paths of the fallen, outer ring that the Survey Corps were entering. It was deserted for miles around, but everyone knew they'd have to take each step with meticulous planning or they'd be running into a minefield. Commander Erwin, his great wings visible from 50 yards back down the procession, led the way on a plain, brown horse. His stoic face was set against the oncoming wind, and the sun beat down onto his bare feathers. Squad Levi followed near behind on their own horses, Levi leading them down the beaten path. Eren, being the prime weapon of humanity, was kept within the refines of Levi's squad, leaving behind his befriended comrades and their anxieties.

The rest of the 104th training division were spread out across the formation, in pairs and threes. Each one's wings were tucked neatly against their wing-crested jackets and poised for flight on a split-second's notice. Their sword canisters banged against their legs, and the silver blades were tucked away, ready to be drawn.

Their first titan encounter was thankfully uneventful and easily avoided, as were several after. Titans began to crowd the procession nearer to where a forest was up ahead. The soldiers pushed their horses on faster, desperate to reach the cramped sea of trees. The titans got too close and the left side of the formation was forced to take flight, spreading their wings and leaping into the air. Their muscles strained as they shot themselves high above the titan's heads, drawing out their swords and cursing the heavy canisters that held them.

The titans fell upon them, and everything was a blur of silver blades and insane faces. There would be no one from coming home from this trip without crimson stains on their uniforms. Armin and Jean had been caught in the midst of three 6m class titans, beating their wings rapidly against the air to dodge the outstretched hands and get close to their soft-spots on the beasts' necks.

"Armin! Watch out behind you!" Armin yanked his sword from the slayed titan's neck and whirled around just in time to watch as a greedy hand hit his right shoulder, throwing him off balance for a split second. He recovered in time to twist his wings and shoot, diagonally, from the closing fist of the titan. He felt a sharp agony batter its way down his arm and along his ribcage, and he struggled to stop himself from completely plummeting to the floor. Jean followed and righted the smaller soldier, but was pushed out of the way of a collapsing titan foot. He jumped back into the air and slashed at the remaining titan's neck, who was caught off guard and screeched earsplittingly.

The two soldiers regretted leaving their abandoned horses behind, but it would be quicker to fly on their own. The biting wing blew hair out of their faces as they sped in the direction of the disappearing formation and into the forest. With each frantic beat of his right wing, Armin gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the grounding pain.

Squad Levi had been surrounded and forced to take to the air. Eren slayed two titans before he blacked out for two seconds, only to re-awaken to a blinding white light and white hot pain rippling across his back. A titan had its fist around both of his wings, and was squeezing too tight, way too tight. He could nearly hear the thin bones cracking, one by one, each one felt like it was being ripped from his spine. He clenched his jaw so tightly; to keep from screeching his throat raw, that he was sure his teeth would snap. Two seconds later, he was shooting towards the ground , it coming up to meet him. Maybe he would die. He didn't want to do that, so he tried to spread his wings, but nothing was there except white-hot agony, and nothing was moving and why wasn't it moving!? His breath caught in his throat and he couldn't breathe, and he fell into unconsciousness's welcoming embrace before he hit the floor.

_All the little birds are falling from their nests. _

_Broken wings and broken minds,_

_Featherless,_

_Cowardly,_

_All the little birds are falling._

_~End of Chapter 2 _


End file.
